>> the eu emergency meeting in brussels to discuss the crises in ukraine and iraq. russia's proposed truce seeking a cease-fire for you minutes harry in a. aid.rcing humanitarian al-maliki resigns, the iraq prime minister agreeing to step down to clear the way for his designate a successor.

>> "countdown hello welcome to-- hello. welcome to "countdown." at 11:00 a.m. london time, eu ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting in brussels. the deteriorating relationship with russia and the threat posed by islamist militants and iraq. international correspondent hans nichols is in brussels. they have a lot to discuss and just the first day. they have very little hard intelligence about what is happening on the ground in both of the situation. iraq appears to be improving but on ukraine, there's a great deal of conclusion -- confusion so there will be an attempt to see clarity. it's unlikely there will be another round of sanctions according to an eu official.

they will assess the impact of and thenimport ban they will try and figure out what is actually happening right now in the city of donetsk. vladimir putin in crimea talking about a worsening crisis. there are reports from local of armored incursions into rebel held territory. we still do not know what will be happening with this aid convoy with the russians claim is humanitarian. one thing is clear, sanctions are appearing to have an effect and they have asked for a $42 billion held, a bailout of sorts. they are heavily leveraged. they appear to need help from vladimir putin. >> mobile the discussions center hat will theon -- wat w

discussions center on in relation to iraq? down-maliki is stepping making way for a new coalition, a new government to form. on this crucial question of it seems thatds, the german press is giving angela merkel inching towards providing some sort of support with the u.k. and france. that will be on the agenda here. the u.s. is saying the situation from a humanitarian with the refugees trapped on that mountain is improving and the government in bag dad is talking about potentially arming the -- in baghdad is talking about potentially arming the kurds. that will be a potential take out of this meeting today. we will speaks, to you later. our international correspondent in brussels. pressure proposing a

cease-fire for humanitarian aid deliveries to the ukraine is almost 300 trucks wait near the border of the war-torn region. for chilcote joins us convoy-date. where are we? -- convoy-gate? what are the speculations? the humanitarian aid convoy is in russia. that is the most important thing to note. it is adjacent to the rebel-held part of ukraine. ukrainians have said they want to inspect this convoy when it comes over. not clear how they would do that if they do not control the area on the other side of the border. the second thing you need to know is that the russians are talking about a cease-fire, a truce. the russian president spoke with barroso and the two agreed that

they would meet at some point face to face to discuss ukraine. on thetion to that, diplomatic front, the russian president was in crimea yesterday, the territory they have annexed saying that he would really like to resolve the conflict and he will do everything he can to do that. finally, we have this sighting fewf you doesn't apcs -- a dozen apc's. >> apc being? >> armored personnel carriers, tanks without tracks. we cannot independently verify that. i guess it is important to note that the ukrainians maintain the russians have been moving apc personnel across the border for many months now. if it's true, if you doesn't is a big deal.

that would be exceptionally alarming. perhaps the concern that all of these trucks going to the rebel-held part of the border, what has the reaction been in general? they want to respect everything first. now we have dueling convoys. kiev says they're going to send their convoys as well. there is a defensive, hearts and minds, that the russians opened up in the ukrainians say cynically, they started it. if you think about these cities, the humanitarian situation is dire. have been surrounded by the military. they have not had any electricity or running water in two weeks. to note that it closed before the reports of the apc's. people have to make up their mind because we only have verification from a couple reporters. having said that, the markets

appear to be shrugging off this situation. getting increasingly optimistic. the russian stock market up for a fifth straight day -- the biggest winning streak since may? >> a long time now. up, russian bond yields down. ?> how concerned should we be what does it say to you? does it say anything to you? is it just pr, spin in terms of what's going on at the moment? >> i think it's interesting that the ceo has asked the government to consider these state guarantees for $42 billion. the government has said they will take two weeks. they will decide whether they will give the aid. what we have heard is that they will not be doing that. there is the conversation about whether this is ok to raid the k

iddies. is it ok? a little bit about the sanctions. at its core used. they can still go to asia. remember, while they are very leveraged, this is a company that pre-sells its oil. they already have tens of particularlyil a from the chinese. it really has to do with how much it has to fund them in the future. >> don't miss our discussion later with the ukrainian foreign minister on the response to the russian convoy coming up later on "countdown." >> let's look at the corporate news. the battle for the 10 d brazilian assets is heating up. telecom italia --the battle for assets.brazilian we need to look into this

bidding battle. >> who spoke first? >> it's a really nice corporate battle going on. telecom italia is seeking to merge its brazilian unit with that of vivendi. up.s team that company with the brazilian. telefonica made a 6.7 billion euro bid for gtp itself. they knew that telecom italia talking it out. they were going to come in and put more than 6 billion euros on the table trying to woo vivendi over.

telecom italia perhaps has more to offer. they went to team up and we will let you, vivendi, further focusing on content through to italy and we will give you a new market. telecom italia has more programming, content. to look at the decline in service revenue. wayt looks as though either vivendi will end up with a stake in telecom italia. they will also be distributing content and team up for mozilla. if they go with telefonica's off er, -- >> why doesn't want further stakes in telecom companies? when vivendi has been divesting?

>> is the power of content and what you can charge. the relationship of who your relationship is in terms of disseminating and that's part of the story. >> they would like to have the revenue flowing but do not want to be directly managing this anymore. they do not want to have a unit that they have to manage but would not mind if someone else was managing it for them. they keep skin in the game and they are able to distribute content. one really interesting area muchh, a key question, how will they offer? more than the 6.7 billion euro offered from telefonica? lessl does not want telecom players. they want more. >> like america. >> and it's a bit like we've seen in france as well. are bothhese deals

saying let's merge our bazillion both a lessening of the amount of players. winning thecome, propaganda war. who knows more concerned with narrative dan geopolitics. we talked to kings college russia institute head coming up next. ♪

>> time for today's company news. chiquita is continue with the planned purchase of its irish competitor. they completed the unsolicited takeover offer from two brazilian companies. the combination would create the largest of the nana company and billscut chiquita's tax by relocating its headquarters to ireland. the auto parts maker is bidding joint trfw to exit a venturer with bosch. they're trying to reach an agreement before they can to create the

second-biggest car parts maker. drinksla, the largest company, has agreed to buy a 17% stake in monster beverage for just $2 billion. this is a sign of coca-cola increasing its bet on the expanding energy drink market. moscow's calling for a cease-fire in eastern ukraine summit can deliver aid to the citizens. the aid convoy is waiting on the russian side of the border waiting to enter ukraine. the call for a truce are from unconfirmed reports that armored personnel carriers have been seen crossing the border. director of the russia institute at kings college london, samuel us now.joins good morning. you say putin is now embarking on a propaganda war. war after hee pr lost public opinion certainly in the west after the downing of mh

370? >> this is an opportunity for him to change the narrative to show that russia can do something that looks contract is . in other places, maybe make them not churlish in terms of letting aid in. it's a big hill to climb but the problem right now is the pr. it keeps ukrainian forces out more or less and it's difficult to achieve military aims and it keeps a thorn in the side of the government of kiev. >> when we read that putin is about to meet the finnish prime minister, the first international meeting for him since july, is this just more's to ring? do you think he genuinely wants to the escalate? what's your read? deescelate?to

see thiss not want to get anywhere us. it does not necessarily mean he wants to see this again that her. he does not necessarily wants to get a solution that kiev or brussels will be happy with but he wants to make sure it does not get more costly from his point of view. it's very difficult because these are unconfirmed reports. there are unconfirmed reports about armored personnel carriers. would it surprise you if we were trying to have a wooing of the hearts and minds in the west that he is trying to not de-escalate but look as though he's being the better man offering aid? >> they're trying to maintain plausible deniability. we've seen reports that they are no more or less credible. i think this is probably an

opportunity for them to reinforce and deal with some of the losses. we have seen some changes with donetsk in the last couple of days and they're trying to make sure that they can withstand the attack and the siege that has been put on by the ukrainian forces. >> talk to me about sanctions bar the effect on various economies about retaliatory measures. what purpose does sanctions have ultimately? >> the fundamental purpose from the point of view reticular live from washington and western governments is to the russian elite, those who support putin and make it possible for him to govern, what the cost of food and continuing to rule -- of putin continuing to rule. it makes it difficult for them to live their lifestyle. there are possibly

approaching the government to seek financial assistance and sanctions are working in that case. sanctions were designed fundamentally to raise the cost of capital for the russian economy and they have done that. we're seeing that with this story. >> i surprised it's happening so quickly? >> i'm not. corporate borrowing in russia is both massive and relatively short-term. they have to roll it over on a one or two-year basis. >> does this sway his actions or not? >> if he's not able to keep his elite and constituents happy than he has a problem he has to deal with. >> read for us the tea. crystalave to, read the ball. where do you think this goes

from here? will be just see freezing of the situation remaining within the sanction environment? goal is to freeze the situation in the ground in ukraine making sure he does not get drawn into a full-scale conflict or make sure they cannot reassert military control. what he's looking for is a way ate with thede-escal west. the west needs to sit back and think about what that would look like. begins to imagine a way forward for moscow. what would they have to do to be able to ramp down the sanctions and change the nature of the relationship? itwe're going to leave there. director of the russia institute of kings college london, samuel greene. from the screen to the scene. cologne,thering in germany, to get a sneak peek of what's coming up for the gaming

world in 2015. we have the details coming up next. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." the world's biggest video game affair with more than 340,000 visitors expect did in cologne, cologne.- expected in the battle is still on between

the main consoles. they have even had to set up a tent village because there are so many people about to descend on the city that they cannot get hotels room. it's like a festival there with tents and camping. that the console makers -- sony with the and microsoft -- with the xbox one have done with the market. demand is huge. they have more than 10 million sold. that is basically more than double microsoft xbox one's numbers. get feeding the frenzy to into new games. sony is selling off metal gear solid. a stealth game, i tell you. [laughter] one everythat saturday.

quantam break. it's kind of a bit like timetam leap" to do with travel and and an experiment that goes wrong. xbox viceo microsoft president and he is telling us the amount that this market is exploding. >> the good news is the industry is continuing to grow strongly. there predict thing $900 billion in annual sales within the next two or three years across all formats. this is creating a great ecosystem for developers. it's a vibrant market for gamers because they are investing to make magical experiences to keep the industry growing. >> the market quadrupling in the next few years is pretty phenomenal.

>> the premier league season kicks off tomorrow. 20 clubs. >> i'm ahead of you. >> i'm taking that back. all things football. >> and a little bit of man u. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." time now for a check on the foreign exchange markets. it is risk off. down against virtually all of its major peers bar one. down for a fifth day in a row. as the geopolitical stage changes in the aid convoy begins to arrive, this the worst performing currency.

you could be heading toward a six-year low according to the combinations of the cloud here. tweet me. i will explain. moving the agenda along, we have a look at the malaysian ringgit. growth numbers, it is rising in the dollar is falling. growth, six quarters in a row, 6.4% gdp, what europe would give for that. that is raise rates and the view. we are at a nine-month or the ringgit and west whack says that trend will continue. >> these are the bloomberg top headlines. iraqi prime minister al-maliki has agreed to leave office. he has previously refused to step down causing a political deadlock in baghdad. this paves the way for à la body

-- al-abadi to create a more cohesive administration. meanwhile, european union foreign ministers are meeting today in emergency sessions with iraq at the top of the agenda. they're ready to discuss how to armed kurdish forces fighting islamist state militants in the north. they are also discussing ukraine. they want to assess the economic sanctions imposed for its support of rebels in ukraine. several news outlets are reporting that russian armored vehicles have crossed the border into ukraine. russia has long denied assisting the rebels there. the armored personnel carriers are not part of the humanitarian aid convoy, 280 trucks bound for the rebel-held areas of ukraine and are now near the border. was just saying, the

bank of japan may cut its growth target for the fiscal year, the fourth time. we had export numbers earlier failing to bolster the economy in the april sales tax increase really hitting home for those familiar with the discussion. zeb eckert joins us from hong kong. what do you make of these reports? >> it's certainly not a good situation. s plan nothe abenomic meeting expectations in the bank of japan resorting to measures to boost the economy. fourth time this year to cut the growth forecast as expected. is the -- if it comes it will be in october where the boj reviews this again. 0.4% is the estimate for the full-year forecast less than the 1 or sent median forecast of board members. it comes as they face the

deepest contraction in three years. we are back where we started. three years ago we had the nuclear crisis, the tsunami and then japan's economy really has not recovered significantly from that if you look at these latest numbers and the fact that they may cut the forecast. when itn't be a shock eventually comes through. zeb eckert on the bank of japan growth rates. thehe first weekend of premier league season is about a day away. it's all about winning the trophy but for the owners and broadcasters, it means rising ticket prices and higher broadcast rights. joining me now to put the world of premier league football to books, the author of the "turning my back on the premier league" lee price and alex. this, essentially, is about cost inflation.

alex, from a writer's perspective, where are we from where we were 23 years ago when the premier league kicked off? was worth 300 million pounds in the current deal is annualized and at one billion plus if you include international rights. major cost inflation which benefits the clubs and the players. and of course the next deal will be up for auction perhaps the beginning of 2015. sky and bt will be battling it out for those rights. i assume they will have to pay a lot more than last time. >> there will be other new entrants in the market place like espn-walt disney. people can consume sports over so many more formats than was the case in the past with tablets, mobile, traditional tv. have dealt with cost

inflation of a different type. you have been a man u for many years. you were there before the success of the early 1990's. tell us what tier and you off? exactly what you said, the cost inflation. the newest deal where they can afford anything from the gate and be no worse off but of course, the prices go up, the profit goes up and if and get turned away and turned off. that's what happened to me. i could not justify the price where i felt like a customer. >> where was your moment when you realized enough is enough? it's more about business than the sport, the fan, the passion, the glory. >> when the contract worth 300,000 pounds per week and that's more than i will make in perhaps half of my working

career. i cannot relate to these players. they are not humans to me. i cannot relate to those guys in the picture anymore with 11 teenage multimillionaires and i'm just a bloke in the stands trying to feel part of something and told to applaud politely on cue. it was once the working man's game. >> i assume it's just going to get worse from the financial standpoint meaning it will get better for the clubs because the rights are going up and up. are we in a bubble? compare the english premier league to some of the others around the europe. >> the value of the premier league is roughly two times the desleague.s like bun it's the league that everyone wants to watch. no surprise that manchester quoted on then new york and singapore stock exchange rather than london. >> you walked away and you

decided to support a team that many of our viewers, especially overseas, have not heard of. of the teamprice currently residing in the bottom of league 2. >> if you signed up for an early bird season ticket it was less than eight pounds per match compared to the premier league. 2,014 pounds.als >> who will eventually end up watching premier league? the families, the young are being priced out. in 10 years, who will be the fans? >> you look now and it's middle-class guys who can afford to go but certainly the teenagers have no chance of going. for the lower leagues, that's where they can go to a match. they can be boys and get it

during for a pound. they cannot afford to go to the game so now they are consuming sports solely through the tv. premier league is a global tv phenomenon. >> can bt and sky continue to keep bidding for the spiraling rights? spain, the rights are coming up soon as well and they will be battling. bt has the rights for many of the premier league clubs. that's another example of cost inflation. where does it end? >> what's at the heart of all of this is content and the desire for content to drive audiences. the cost of that content is passed on to the customer and the customer is the guy at home, the subscriber paying a higher subscription price. the moment they pushed back, the content costs will stabilize but frankly i do not see that happening any time soon. >> lee, what color will that be?

>> you told me to say red. [laughter] >> it could be the red of liverpool. >> or chelsea. of "turning, author my back on the premier league," and alex de groote. million up to 1 billion pounds. russia banning some imported foods including australian and american beef and it could actually be good. there'll stevenson raises his cattle in russia. caroline is here and ryan joins us. talk to me about cattlemen and russia. this issue of stetson, horse, speaking russian. did not know that

cowboys still existed, but i discovered that not only are there a cowboys but an american cowboy and russia raising cattle meant he was just getting started. it was sort of part of this russian push to develop food securities to reduce russia's dependence on imports, reduce swings in the price. >> he must be the happiest cowboy in the world. on importedhis ban beef and now he is sitting pretty. he's american but producing beef. >> they go to restaurants like u.k.,n's here in the high-quality, high price tag. k is about increasing wealth. unsurprisingly, stake was not a priority. milk,hey stop producing that is lower grade beef.

generally, you grind it and you needed. they have been getting increasingly wealthy area and so they want their steak so you bring in angus. >> we have a special guest coming up after the break. >> those benefiting from the u.s. beef ban, a russian cattlemen who flew in 260 head from nebraska to build a beef empire. ♪

beef?re's the let's talk to the man bringing american-style beef to russia by importing his cattle and cowboys to russia. thank you very much for joining us. on imported beef started long after just last week. you have been at this business for six years. presumably, it helps, no? >> right. it's a bit difficult to say exactly what the repercussions will be for us, our business, our country.

at the moment, we are dealing with it as best we can. we set out to do this six years ago and we are going to keep doing it regardless of sanctions or not. right now it looks to be ok. >> how much a beef does that take off the market if your competitors from overseas cannot import their steaks? >> two years ago, america was first in imports. australia months ago, was closed. steakhouses turned to argentina and brazil. what we found was since going to market about two months ago, the response has been tremendous. saying this is american-style beef and quality and it's exactly what our goal is. we want to create a product that is competitive.

we want to create a product that people can and joy that is produced in russia for russians. give us a sense of the scaly gear business, the size of the ranch, the size of the herd - -give us a sense of the scale of your business. ranchesve six large about 30,000 head of cattle. we have a one-time capacity of 24,000 and a packing plant at 30 head per hour, about 150 tons of beef per day. we were able to do this because we started with the genetics. genetics is what we started with in 2008 and then we built commercial ranches in the south and now finally be packing

plant. it's been a long time coming. the biggest challenges have been obviously the lack of the beef business in russia before doing this. there is completely no beef business before we started. genetics start from and then move down. we basically created a vertically-integrated business which is really uncommon in developed countries such as the is. or australia because it a mature industry there. different companies do different parts of the business. >> ilya -- >> we had to start from scratch basically. >> give us a sense. how big can the russian beef market before you, this top quality steak? >> the russian beef industry is infancy. no one company or even two can

create an industry. we are basically just starting from scratch right now but the potential, i think, is a very big because we have the land resources, the conditions to do it. we just need to educate the on how to do it. beef is the largest potential toort for russia as opposed pork or poultry. for us, it's a long-term game. >> you just started selling your beef just a couple months ago? how is it going? ago so a couple months this is kind of unexpected. we've been getting responses, very good responses from steakhouses, restaurants, chains. it's been great. in terms of quality, people are quite happy. , deputynitsenko

director of the zarechnoe group. 30,000 head of cattle is a lot. will the stars of the action-packed "expendables 3" film? more in the newspapers segment. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." its papers time. we have one film buff among us and you have chosen "the expendables 3." >> i saw the first one and it was ok. was awful.es 2" i love the 1980's and nostalgia. according to the film reviewer and "the times," it's amazing who is in this film. sylvester stallone, harrison ford, mel gibson. i will be in the next one. they are getting in on the youngins as well. kelsey grammer, frasier, antonio banderas, jet li, jason stay dolph-- statham, and

lundgren. the token jokes about jet li's height, the unconvincing reparte between stallone and statham. innumerable shots of stallone out running a missile explosion. it's all familiar. she gives it two stars. the second was awful. we love the 1980's though. what is your daily picture today? th your picture.our >> it is a level results time. [laughter] >> he coupled this together

about a minute ago. i can read quickly. math has overtaken english as the number one choice of subject by kids today. savvy students. don't question me. i only got as far as paragraph one. >> td pass rate improve -- did the pass rate improve? >> get off. the proportion of achieving a to 98.0% by 0.1%. >> there are record numbers going to university. >> moving on. what many people are doing this weekend, having a drink or two, and potentially splurging more than 500 pounds. times," drunken

online shopping. you are generally spending more than 500 pounds on your credit card buying things like lobster pops, diving equipment, folding ladders, washing machines. to amazon, 50% get the dutch courage to start bidding on ebay. they conducted all of these investigations into this onto how many people are splashing out while intoxicated. if you're going to have a drink or two, don't go on your mobile device. >> have you ever done it? >> i have not luckily. i'm useless with my phone anyway. >> it's the new drunk texting. >> but a little more whack on your credit card. >> why are you looking at me like filth? >> "countdown" continues in the next hour.

the foreign minister's response on the russian convoy. "countdown" continues in just a few minutes. ♪

e.u.'s emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in the ukraine and our rack. ks a cease-fire, while some journalists report russian-harbored transport carriers. and nouri al-maliki agrees to step down and make the way for his designated successor as the you may weigh options for the country's oil market. union mayeuropean weigh options for the country's oil market.

hello, welcome to countdown. , joined as ever by caroline hyde and manus cranny. we will be speaking with the ukraine foreign minister on what to expect. that is in about 10 minutes. later today, at 11:00 london two, e.u. leaders will hold a meeting, the deteriorating conditions with rushing and islamic militants in iraq. hans nichols is in brussels. good morning. i have a lot to discuss, haven't they? >> they have a lot to discuss. they did not have a lot of time to prepare, this is a snap meeting. there is an aspect of crisis to this meeting. when ukraine, which they are looking for clarity in so many

ways and also iraq. the iraq situation appears to be improving. on ukraine they will be looking for intelligence, trying to figure out what is happening on the ground, especially with the aid convoy. in terms of additional sanctions, there is unlikely to be a new round of sanctions according to an e.u. official, but they want to assess the impact of the sanctions, the counter sanctions russia has imposed on the eu and food imports. one thing that is clear on all of this, trying to find certainty on what is actually happening with the aid convoy. one certainty, clearly sanctions are having an effect. hasstate owned oil company asked for a 42 billion euro bailout from the state of russia. it is going to be a major challenge. they are heavily leveraged, they have a lot of debt, and they need to service that debt. hard to do that when you cannot

access international capital markets. >> hans nichols, our international correspondent in brussels. europe, --allied in stocks rallied in europe. lastong will that reprieve and what is next for equities? we are joined by the fidelity worldwide investments director of asset allocations. robert, great to have you with us this morning. it has been quite a week in terms of pieces of the puzzle, credit in china, japan, contracting. shockingly bad news in these markets, and we are making a big mistake. are we come in terms of looking at the market? >> i'm not sure if we are making a big mistake. i think the markets generally rally when there is a panic. the last couple weeks we have a way of measuring investor sentiment.

it is the most depressed investor sentiment since the fourth quarter of 2011, which was the really intense fate of the eurocrisis. there is a really deep investor panic. the reasons are fairly obvious. we have the geopolitical stress in iraq, israel, also the ukraine of course. and you have some signs of indigestion in the high-yield market over the u.s. going that way. i think when you have times of panic, it's much uttered be a buyer than a seller, especially if you think the fundamental outlook is good. the u.s. is driving this. we have weakness in europe and japan, week data in china. n china.data i the u.s. is looking great, business confidence is high. you also have a switching one of the prime residential market again. as is the most important thing going on. is seeing afficer

big increase in prime mortgages, meaning that rates are high enough to switch the u.s. economy back on. >> where is the evidence of wage increases in the u.s. and the u.k. and other countries? >> there is not a great deal of evidence of rage -- wage increases, but that is bullish. you have economic recovery with low inflation pressures and the fed and bank of england still think there is a ton of capacity so they are not in a hurry to raise interest rates. there's an interesting difference between the u.s. and u.k. the u.k. housing market is cooling off. it is the dollar that is seeing strength. >> the market seems to responding to bad news is good news again, while the eurozone is sluggish in terms of data, few carrying on about stimulus. you are saying the u.s. economy is going great guns. will there be a shot coming our

way that will and in october, if the rate increases? >> there will be an adjustment to make when rates go up. we were expecting it to rise. we are positioned in a fairly neutral way, looking for a future rise to buy equities again. we taught the volatility would come from mayor wage -- from a rate shock. it hasn't. it is somewhat geopolitical. rate shock in a september, at which the markets might be at high levels. primedounds like you're and ready to switch cash into the market. -- do you think other big houses are ready to make a push into equities like you, from what you just said? we had corrections in paris, london, the u.s. has not underperformed and has not had

as big a dwell time. >> i think there will be money coming back in. they were very uncomfortable with the low level of volatility, with the stockmarkets. there is usually a pickup in volatility over the summer months and is sitting on the sideline. i think people will be buying. not to say that we will not get more volatility near-term. this is something you have to trade quite carefully. during down moments you buy and sit back and little bit. >> is the duration of your trading changing? >> i think in terms of putting money into the markets, you have to be very aware of the entry point. when volatility is rising and there is a panic, it is a great time to put money in. that is what i would say. you are focused on shorter-term entry points. i think it is still positive for equities. >> and the russians are buying eurozone stocks with their

economy flatlining. do the earnings weren't it? rrant the earnings wa it? i am underweight european equities. i like u.s. equities, the asian pacific is interesting. i'm underweight emerging markets and i'm underweight europe. within europe, i have been buying the dax. when you're up close down, and a lot suggested the slowdown would continue with or without trouble with the gas supply in winter from russia, in that environment, typically the dax outperforms. the financials have been underperforming as they have all year. it has got hit very hard by the geopolitical worries and by the general mood. therefore, if you are buying equities on the dip, you should be buying the dax. >> wherein the united states

should you be buying? are there industries that you like? people,e like a lot of we are bearish on bonds. we think of the housing market fires up again, the yields will go up sharply. we are avoiding staples, utilities, reits. our favorite sectors are technology and health care. >> even though janet yellen said we are worried about technology valuations, she felt they were toppy. technology sector, which is probably apple if you think about it. they are not too concerned about the stock market valuations generally. i still think we are in a world where bonds are hugely expensive. stock earnings yields are about average. >> a lot have investors have been telling us on the right of line. it's not going to keep happening. optimist, so the yield

of the treasury market is zero. trend growth is probably two. at some point it has to go up 2%. it would bring up on valuations in line with each other. stocks and bonds seemed about right then. it is hard to say when it will rise. there will be shocks along the way. >> interesting that you go for fundamentals, like product pipeline. >> the main thing is the oncologyglobally to do is very strong. we have all sorts of new products coming through, a major area of concern globally. a lot of money will be spent in that area. what we're likely to see as that pipeline comes to for wish and and brings -- as it comes to fruition, it will bring in real

money and we are seeing that with mna approaches well. >> will pfizer comeback for astrazeneca? >> we will have to see. shouting about the pipeline of experimental drugs. >> i'm not a stock picker. >> high yield, comment? >> it's not a benchmark for me. i do own some high-yield. monument, wase this too much? >> you were one of many who did this in july? >> possibly. it is a very narrow doorway are all trying to rush through. it worried me the high yields in the treasuries were as low as they were as in the mid- 200's. the total yield feels like it's too low. when the economy is strong i don't think it is immediately a problem, but it felt if i wanted early summer

because i thought volatility would pick up, that was a place to reduce. what exactly does this tell us, volatility, quantitative easing. what does it mean? you are a huge fund manager. what does that mean to you? what is out of kilter here? >> i think europe is slowing down. i think we're going to see zero interest rates for a long time. i have been buying puts recently. i have been buying the dax and puts. i think germany's assets stand to gain. the dax has been hit hard. the u.s. is picking up. the fundamentals for the german industry look pretty good. and german government bonds, while we have been in aggregate bond exposure, those feelings far as they're going to go. i have been trimming back into bonds. it seems rather weird.

of ae are just moving out lot of other government bonds in europe. >> what about the u.k.? >> i'm underweight u.k. guilds. i think that is the right place to be. >> and uk equities? >> they are underweight because we think the sterling will keep going up. they have underperformed globally. >> have the rates changed after the quarterly inflation report, when the hike flip-flops, trevor -- >> torturing people like you. >> it's very hard to know what the forward guidance is based on. >> it's not wages. >> and then i think the housing market is in there. i just think they are moving from one thing to another, trying not to raise interest rates. that seems to be what is happening. i think of it as a pressure

cooker. housing market look strong, the economy is 3.5%, 4% growth. if they don't raise interest rates now, they will have to raise more later. temporary because the mortgage backlog. and the unemployment rate is falling. >> wages are not growing, which means it's difficult to afford. does that play in? >> there are more people getting jobs. i take on the housing market is it is having a temporary paul's and will come back to life again. it is having a temporary pause. >> next year? >> next year. >> trevor, thank you very much indeed. the rector of asset allocations for fidelity worldwide investments. coming up, a russian convoy in

ukraine sparks controversy. i will ukraine respond? ukraine's foreign minister joins us next. ♪

first. bloomberg. good morning. it is "countdown," friday.

we are here to talk about russia, the convoy inching towards the border. a proposed cease-fire for the humanitarian deliveries. where are we now? >> it is on the russian side of the ukrainian-russian border. it is adjacent to a part of ukraine controlled by the rebels, which is interesting because ultimately the aid needs to go through that area. the question is how are the ukrainians going to inspect it. that is something they have insisted on doing. meanwhile, the russians are saying because the convoy is going to come in, there should be a cease-fire. russian president was on the phone yesterday with ukraine, talking about having a three-way face-to-face meeting with ukrainian president, no idea of the format, when that would happen, where that would happen. also, the russian president was in crimea yesterday making some comments. finally, we have two reporters,

one from an independent russian newspaper, one for me ukrainian television station, saying they have observed a few dozen armored personnel carriers entering ukraine, which would not at all be diplomatic. a mixture of signals today. >> muddy water, because many inel this could be put trying to de-escalate a little bit, look like he is being it the better man with the humanitarian element, but what does ukraine feel? they are wanting to expect. they are not trusting them yet, and they are almost trying to steal the limelight with the humanitarian effort. >> it was up to them, they would prefer this convoy from russia go away. asy look at the russians being the cynical aggressors. now you have these dueling convoys. you have the russian convoy on the russian side of the border, and ukraine sending its own

convoy, almost as if there is a for thef -- a battle hearts and minds of the east of the country. which, let's face it, is a more pleasant situation than when they are fighting. but the fighting of course continues as well. just a little bit lower. comingwinning streak into today. we are just a touch lower on that. a little up with and he from the college, was saying it was more propaganda rather than de-escalation. >> i think that's a fair way to look at this. the caveat we were talking about is you just don't know. right? if you've got on the one hand humanitarian aid effort and you have, say, abc, it's difficult

to say what is going on. but it appears this is about a public relations offensive for the kremlin because this goes down well in russia if the russians are helping russians. aboutl be speaking more this, hopefully speaking to the ukrainian foreign minister in a little bit. coming up, shaking up the telecom sector. telecom italia considers an offer for vivendi. what is the long game next? ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown." talkingalking telecoms, the battle for brazil. asset, telecomom italia is getting ready to consider. will they trump telefonica's bi d. it is really getting down and dirty between telecom of spain, the dominant telecom player, and telecom italia. has a large stake in telecom italia. a both want to get into brazil because it is the fastest-growing country for people getting on the internet. spain and italy, it is sluggish. goose, its the golden has the brazilian asset which

telefonica has said 27 billion euros for this. >> they knew that telecom italia and vivendi were talking. >> they were already chatting. the chief executives were already sitting down with the chairman of vivendi saying, look, i have interest. they have expressed interest months ago. telefonica got there first, made debate in public, but now this is brewing behind the scenes. they are swaying -- they are saying i will swap assets, remember they make their own content. this is a way that vivendi can canss italy, telecom italia access brazil. it could be that much more attractive than the spanish juggernaut getting in on brazil. we will have to see.

it is a question of price and regulation. brazil overall does not want to have less players. >> ryan? >> the russian convoy we have been talking about is still near the border, still sparking controversy. some journalists say they saw another russian convoy of armored personnel carriers entering the country. for what is next, joining us on the phone is the country's foreign minister from kiev, ukraine. thank you for joining us. .'s.s start with the a.p.c is the russian military moving into the ukraine? >> we have a number of cases into the russian territory, as well as continuous inflow of weapons and heavy weaponry. this is the critical issue because we have to stop this is one of theis critical preconditions for the bilateral cease-fire. this is exactly the issue we have been working on. these russian journalists,

russian and ukraine journalists i should say, saw a few dozen russian armored personnel carriers and to ring the ukraine. are you confirming that? i guess i wanted to get your take, now when we hear these reports, what is this? in your estimation, what is the probability we would have a full-scale invasion of eastern ukraine? if any sort of invasion could happen, and i do believe we should work on any such developments, our country will defend us. now it is about de-escalation. now it is about settlement. now it's about sorting out issues like the issue with humanitarian assistance. now it's about putin's

humanitarian assistance within the frame of ukrainian legislation. under their responsibility of the red cross. there are a number of critical issues we have been working on. there is a possibility now for -- four foreign ministers germany, france, russia, and us into meet over the weekend order to talk through these present issues. meet with going to those foreign ministers, including the russian foreign minister, this weekend? of the one of the ideas german foreign minister. it would be critical now to sustain the dialogue on the number of present issues. >> sorry come just to go back to 's, can you firm that

they entered the ukraine? >> we have practically every night shelling from the russian territories. and the russians coming across the border. because we don't have control on this substantial amount of the border from donetsk, it is quite unfortunate we cannot always have the monetary mission there. can you clarify the situation with russia's humanitarian aid, the convoy carrying humanitarian aid into ukraine? still on the russian side of the border. you talk with your russian counterpart today. is he going to come into the ukraine today? >> well, we agreed the russian humanitarian convoy could enter

ukraine under all prudent course it's -- under all prerequisites of ukrainian law, often are all relevant checks and clarence. the umbrella of the international red cross. it would be the responsibility to have red cross to carry about all the logistical issues, transportation, about storage and distribution. it is indeed a critical issue. >> you're sending your own convoy of humanitarian aid in. why is that? is there a sort of battle of hearts and minds going on now with you and the russians and the hearts of the people in the east of the country? are you concerned that the russians are one-upping you?

>> no, not at all. it is not about playing out any sort of political issues. humanitarian assistance is about helping people on the ground. reach the people who have been suffering from the terrorist activities. of course it is critical not only to deliver humanitarian assistance but we have been supplies o to restore there because we can't let the have to fer and we give them back the normal life. and now it is about humanitarian assistance on the ground. >> foreign minister, the russians want a cease-fire. are you going to give it to them? >> we have been talking about a bi-lateral cease-fire for weeks. and of course -- >> that's a yes or no answer.

are you ready for a cease-fire? > we are ready for the bilateral cease-fire if all the key conditions are met. and now we don't have any contact and activity from the terrorists. we have a slight progress on hostages. we don't have any sort of effective control at the russian-ukrainian border. of course it will be about bilateral cease-fire. >> president putin spoke yesterday and they discussed having three-way talks with ukraine's president. you mentioned a meeting of foreign ministers that would include yourself and russia's foreign minister. give us in your sense how close we are to some kind of reconciliation and what it might look like in those first talks.

>> it is not just about -- russia and thean e.u. and russia. it is about influencing the terrorists on the ground. russia. have -- from clear links to the russian security services. even russian humanitarian assistance. for days, we are unable to contact the terrorist on the ground even to agree on the route for our -- for the russian humanitarian assistance. how can you talk in a credible way to the people if they are not going the have -- and they are not going talk about humanitarian issues? >> and when are the ukrainian

and russian presidents going to meet and where? >> well, there is no date at the moment. it is now about consultations, about the possible time frame and the future agenda. as you know, we have also a number of other issues on the jeopardy like implementation of the grem. -- on the agenda the implement of the agreement. >> a lot of government officials, in your government, the prime minister, the interior minister have been calling the russians cynical agressors. is that how you see it? is your counterpart a cynical addressor? >> we have a number of cases of

shelling the ukrainian territory from the russian territory. in the sense of u.n. -- such shelling is also an act of aggression. in that sense, what we need now is clear, the escalation. e need now to stop the traffic through the border. mercenaries. money. weaponry. anything. we need now to stop russian influence. >> foreign minister, the parliament approved a law on sanctions yesterday. you can now impose them on russian individuals and companies. are you going to sanction gazprom and what does that mean for gas flows to western europe? >> firstly, it would be about the security council and the --

ministers to impose sanctions. the sanctions would be imposed against persons and entities. but we are not talking about transit and gas flow because we have a clear contract and we understand the importance of european energy securities so there should be no threat in any way to the flow of gas to european countries. >> foreign minister pavlo klimkin, thank you very much for your time. good luck with negotiations this weekend. >> the premiere league football season kicks off tomorrow. they used world leading analytic technology to find out which team will win the title. joining us now is the author of "12 yards: the art and

psychology of the perfect penalty." great to have you back. i can't believe the new season is already upon us. they crunch the numbers like they do every year and they come out with their projections. who is going to come where. let's look at the top six first. >> ok. >> because the holders of that trophy might be retaining it if b sports is to be believed. >> they predicted that manu would win it. it looks like it is going to be two-horserace. 38.7-38.4. live poole is contenders. looks like the two-horserace for the title and a three-horse between arsenal, manchester united and liverpool. >> do you concur with the

projections or not? >> my personal view would be i think chelsea will win the title. i think they are the strongest side. they have strengthened better. they have improved by a greater margin. hey came so close last season. >> they have -- who brings in goals from midfield. >> now they have got used to the idea of winning titles. they have strengthened their squad. >> what they have done really well is manage their talent. they have inside three players on five-year contracts. when you think about the troubles that arsenal has had in keeping their talent, naturally, they let them run down their contracts.

they have got this spine of a squad that is going nowhere and they improved as well. >> as you say, there is a very small spread, 3% if that, between arsenal and between liverpool. arsenal, manu, liverpool of course reached the champion league play this season. going to of suarez be too much? >> that is the biggest departure for the premiere league this season. the big story in liverpool is how they will cope with it. they brought a lot of players to try to compensate for the amount of goals he scored. he scores 31 goals last season. if you combine the amount of goals from the others you still might not get up to 31. >> what about manu? a couple of players. is it enough?

we have seen a vast improvement. improvement. be an they have given a whole club a boost really. everyone is that confident. only two players and they have lost four. they still need to buy -- >> ferdinand. >> yeah. needs improving in the next two weeks. there is pressure on woodward to start making these deals. last summer he didn't make the deals soon enough and it could be a repeat this year. >> let's look at the bottom of the league. these are the projections for whobbed get the least points. bern -- burnley. i think the events of the last

24 hours may change that again. they are not in the projection. ing down see palace drop there as well. >> he has form in the premiere league as in form of staying up and being relegated as well. would you think his experience -- they have got a bit of money behind them. >> they have brought quite well. a full back, a wing back who is chilean will be an excellent sign. experience with ferdinand as well. i think they will be ok. hey inside the steapt coach. if they don't do that well, here is read-made replacement. >> quickly, the first game of the new season, 12:45, isn't it? manu at swandsi.

-- swansi. it looks like according to the projections it is going to be a comfortable win. >> the b sports analysis which we do all season suggestses that man chers united have a 55% chance of winning this game. i think ps better than that. they have not looked great in preseason. i think we'll struggle this will season as well. the united really should win this game. >> do you think it was clever pipetting rooney as captain? >> a master stroke. you don't want rooney against you. he tried to leave twice already. to have him on your side is brillyept. the leader of the -- i don't think he was that impressed. we'll see how he react as the season develops. >> it is going to be a fun season. the author of the great book "all about penalties" do have a look at it. which i haven't.

i apologize. i said i would read it on holiday. one step at a time. we'll see you soon. >> anyone is going to read that book, mark, i know that you will along with a few man united memory billises. -- >> getting a sneak peek at what is ahead for the game world in 2015. we have the details coming up next. ♪

>> welcome back. let's talk video gaming. let's talk the world's biggest deo game fair with more than 340 visitors. the battle is still on between the key consul makers and also the new games. what is going to be snapped up ahead of the holiday season? it even has a tent area. an entire at the present time village in germany. >> a festival which caroline hyde went to. >> on the weekend and suffered very much. the repercussions are immense. this is such a huge gathering of

all the key makers of games and also the people that are making the games and play them. microsoft and sony. the two competitors. >> sony is winning the battle, aren't they? >> play station 4, almost 10 million sold. double what microsoft has sold on the xbox 1. the volume being sold, more than double any other generation. this is wonderful news for the game makers. to their ears. >> a lot of it is the evolution of games and more for our living room. also what we with the hardware systems. you're saying the way we pay for games is changing. what is that about and why are they doing that? >> pretty interesting business modelle. look at netflix now. -- we have a subscrix per

subscription for per month. e.a.o., big games maker. e.a. access is their services. you pay a monthly fee and can get a wealth of their games, access to them. interestingly sony has set up their own. who'll win out here? will it be the game make orse the consul makers? sony has its own as well. >> it is a company that offers games for all. >> play station has play station now. thought e.a. would win out in the end. >> that would compromise the revenue streams. >> what is so interesting is what games companies are aware of is there are free to use games. >> showing up on your mobile device. >> the way the game publishers make their money, you use a game for free and then you buy extra

weapons and outfits. >> i think this is pretty phenomenal. the volume, sony has the latest installment in metal gear. >> who is the hero? >> a snake, a soldier who infit ralte rates a nuclear weapons facility. -- infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility. game sales are going to rise 7% this year. $27 billion. get this. it could be $100 billion. it could quadruple in size in the next two to three years. that's what they are telling us. sony is thinking this is front and center for sony's regeneration. it also focused on the play station.

>> it is bringing something that is unique. you are the actor. you are immersed in your world and more and more when people are understanding that, and understanding the feeling, the emotions they get out of playing a video game. they speak to their friends and on and on, it is growing. we are going to be -- to have close to 2 billion people playing games on the planet in the next year. aming is really at center of entertainment. >> an interesting -- he is saying look. immersive games. about these time warp games. quantum break. it affects the way the game isplay played. it is surreal. they want you to be immersed. this is what they are saying.

this is about immersive games. this is about 2 billion people playing. 2 billion! this is phenomenal! it is a whole another world. that is a lot of gamers. the numbers stack up. this is why 340,000 people descend on germany. interestingly, it is gamers who are there. it is open to the audience torques the public. it makes this particular event so important because you're getting twitter going, social media going. you're building a presence as to which games will sell come up for christmas. >> ok. we're going to leave it there. it is substantial numbers. european equities are set to open higher. jonathan fero will join us. stock futures heading to the biggest weekly rally in six months. ♪

>> welcome back to "countdown". i'm manus cranny. we are set for the biggest weekly gain in six months. i don't know whether that is irony or not. on fero can tell me -- ferro can tell me who were the it is. >> everybody talking about bad news equals good news. this is a sucker's bet on

european markets because whether you expect the e.c.b. to conduct more stimulus or not, it is not going to work. >> a guest said the u.s.a. is on fire and -- he has been buying the dax because it has had such a smacking. when the euro does badly, the dax does well. >> he is buying bonds because he is switching away -- yields driving these lower because of expectation of more stimulus. >> he says they can't go low forever. he just wants to get out. >> can i get my promo in quickly?

manu -- >> follow me on twitter. >> manus cranny. we'll be shouting about the impact to have premiere league. ♪

>> welcome to "on the move." i'm jonathan ferro from london. we are minutes away from the open. forad news good news european stocks? is this market getting too excited about the prospect of stimulus. joining me is hence nichols, ryan chilcote and caroline hyde. >> i am in brussels where there is an emergency meeting of foreign ministers. on the agenda -- ukraine and iraq. there is unlikely to be a new round of sanctions on russia. but they do want to assess the impact of the import ban on food stuffs.

ryan? the ukrainians and russians are going to sit down at the same table with their french and german counterparts. we heard it first here from the ukrainian foreign minister on bloomberg television. he made that announcement a half hour ago, said that meeting may take place this weekend. those convoys on the ground. one of humanitarian aid. a russian convoy. soon for dan yet -- donestk. you have armored personnel carriers moving into ukraine. >> i am talking the battle for brazil is heating up. battling for the brazilian unit. i'll be back with more on the telecoms